Biofact (archaeology)

In archaeology, a biofact (or ecofact) is any organic material including flora or fauna material found at an archaeological site that has not been technologically altered by humans yet still has cultural relevance.^[1] Biofacts can include but are not limited to plants, seeds, pollen, animal bones, insects, fish bones and mollusks.^[1] The study of biofacts, alongside other archaeological remains such as artifacts are a key element to understanding how past societies interacted with their surrounding environment and with each other. Biofacts also play a role in helping archaeologists understand questions of subsistence and reveals information about the domestication of certain plant species and animals which demonstrates, for example, the transition from a hunter-gatherer society to a farming society.^[2]

Biofacts are differentiated from artifacts in that artifacts are typically considered anything purposefully manipulated or made by human art and workmanship, whereas ecofacts represent matter that has not been made or deliberately influenced by humans yet still has cultural relevance.^[3]^{[failed verification]} Biofacts reveal how people respond to their surroundings.^[4]

There are many different ways that biofacts can be preserved, including through carbonisation, waterlogging, desiccation and mineralization. There are also varying methods of recovering them depending on the location in which they were found.

^ ^a ^b "Ecofact", Encyclopedic Dictionary of Archaeology, Cham: Springer International Publishing, p. 422, 2021, doi:10.1007/978-3-030-58292-0_50065, ISBN 978-3-030-58291-3, S2CID 242632263, retrieved 2022-05-12
^ Sutton, Mark Q. (2021-02-17). Archaeology. doi:10.4324/9781003110521. ISBN 9781003110521. S2CID 240993177.
^ Friedman, Ken (2007). "Behavioral Artifacts: What is an Artifact? Or Who Does It?". Artifact. 1 (1): 7–11. doi:10.1080/17493460600610764. ISSN 1749-3463. S2CID 62586722.
^ Algeo J. & Algeo A.(Winter, 1988) American Speech Vol. 63, No. 4 , pp. 345-352

[:0-1] "Ecofact", Encyclopedic Dictionary of Archaeology, Cham: Springer International Publishing, p. 422, 2021, doi:10.1007/978-3-030-58292-0_50065, ISBN 978-3-030-58291-3, S2CID 242632263, retrieved 2022-05-12

[2] Sutton, Mark Q. (2021-02-17). Archaeology. doi:10.4324/9781003110521. ISBN 9781003110521. S2CID 240993177.

[3] Friedman, Ken (2007). "Behavioral Artifacts: What is an Artifact? Or Who Does It?". Artifact. 1 (1): 7–11. doi:10.1080/17493460600610764. ISSN 1749-3463. S2CID 62586722.

[Algeo&Algeo-4] Algeo J. & Algeo A.(Winter, 1988) American Speech Vol. 63, No. 4 , pp. 345-352

[1]

[2]

[3]

[4]